Chapter Helps Paint It Purple with Cupcakes

Friday, some of our advisors from Epsilon Tau Epsilon alumnae chapter came over to the AXO House and together we all decorated cupcakes for Refuge House for the start of Domestic Violence Awareness Month!

Xi Omega Xi Virtual Alumnae Chapter Installed at Convention

Xi Omega Xi Virtual Alumnae Chapter for alumnae of Beta Eta Chapter, Florida State University, was installed on July 11, 2010 in Washington D.C. during Alpha Chi Omega's 56th National Convention.


Back Row, Left to Right: founding members Katie Halliday, Britain Dwyre, Aggie Smith Steiner, Jessica Harwood Bouwsma, Jessica Beers, Sylvia Miller Foster and Sarah McDaniel.
Front Row, Left to Right: founding members Claudia Wenzel Thomas, Province Alumnae Chair Lorraine Franckle, and founding members Karen Buffer Rinehart and Patty Renick Gerrard.

Province Alumnae Chair, Lorraine Rubis Franckle, administered the installation while National Song Chair, Audra Levi Priluck, graciously contributed by singing the music during the ceremony - a huge thank you to both of these ladies!!!

Jessica Harwood Bouwsma and Audra Levi Priluck, National Song Chair


Assistant Director of Lifetime Engagement, Megan Houghton, visited us at the end of installation, presenting us with this President's Gavel.


President of Xi Omega Xi, Jessica Harwood Bouwsma at her delegate seat during Convention.

Beta Etas Celebrate 50th Reunion

Beta Etas who returned for their 50th Class Reunion in early April - Ann Clements Marshall of Port Charlotte, Martha Costin of Port St Joe/Panama City and Sylvia Miller Foster of Tampa/Gulfport standing left to right.

Ann, Martha and Sylvia attended the Sunday brunch at 518 where this picture was taken. Martha and Sylvia were roommates at the house and were lucky winners at the raffle that day. They missed the other 20 + sisters who had traveled to Deland in 2007 to get their 50 year AXO pins at State Day, but they enjoyed reminiscing and meeting some of the collegiate sisters.

Welcoming Our Newest Beta Eta Alumnae

 

Dear Recent Beta Eta Chapter Graduate,

       It is with great pride that we congratulate you on your recent graduation from The Florida State University, and your entry into another chapter in your lives as an alumna of the Beta Eta Chapter of Alpha Chi Omega. You will forever remember the time you spent at 518 West Park Avenue, forever cherish the time spent with your sisters whom have become your life long friends, and forever be a member of Alpha Chi Omega Fraternity.

       As you begin this journey, there are a couple things we hope you will do to keep in touch with Alpha Chi:

1. Be sure to join the Beta Eta alumnae group on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6054394572&ref=ts

2. Follow the chapter on Twitter: @axo_fsu

3. Sign up for our Yahoo Group Emails: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/axobh2000s/

4. Join a local alumnae chapter in your new town (please let Britain or Amy Z know if you need help finding one, or you can use this link:http://www.alphachiomega.org/index.aspx?id=96)

5. Join Beta Eta's very own Virtual Alumnae Chapter, Xi Omega Xi: http://axofloridastate.blogspot.com/p/joinrenew-alumnae-chapter.html

6. Check out the Xi Omega Xi blog: http://axofloridastate.blogspot.com/

7. Come back to 518 for Homecoming festivities and other events!  Beta Eta's calendar will be updated on the chapter's website: www.axofloridastate.com and on the Xi Omega Xi Blog...

8. Update your address with HQ, to ensure you receive mailings: http://www.alphachiomega.org/sindex2.aspx?id=138


       If you decide to check out Xi Omega Xi, (we of course hope you do) and you decide to become a member, please note that you can do so by paying your annual dues on the blog thru Paypal. Xi Omega Xi offers a discount for the 1st year for recent grads with dues of ($19) ... (much cheaper than chapter dues, heh?)!

       If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us at Axofloridastate {at} gmail {dot} com

Beta Eta Featured in National Housing Corporation Newsletter!

It was so nice to see a photo of the upstairs TV room featured in this article in the Alpha Chi Omega National Housing Corporation's monthly newsletter. To see the full Housing Happenings newsletter, click here.

Linking the Past to the Present by Erin Boyce, Lead Specialist-Local House Corporation/Chapter Relations Erin Boyce, House Corporation President for Alpha Chi House Corporation at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana, shares her story about creating a “Founders Room” for the chapter. In the Summer of 2009 during one of my frequent visits to the Alpha Chi Chapter house at Butler University,  I discovered boxes and boxes of old photos from the 1940s to the present sitting in a dark room in the basement.  Also discovered was the original chapter charter, a handwritten story of the chapter’s founding and a shadow box with the pin and charm bracelets of one of the chapter’s founders.  I gathered these items together and took a trip to Headquarters to share these treasures with Vicky Harrison who serves as the staff Archivist.  While at Headquarters, Vicky and I discussed what to do with these discoveries.  From our conversations, I was inspired to create a Founders Room in the chapter house.  Vicky shared pictures from other chapters who had created such a space in their home and I began to visualize how the Alpha Chi house at Butler could has its own “historic” space also. After tapping into the talents of a local alumna who was an interior decorator and soliciting additional items from the alumnae using the chapter newsletter, the project began to take shape.  Getting chapter “buy-in” was critical because the house corporation was converting the “Bum Room” into a more formal area.  The buy-in was easy as the chapter members began learning about their heritage.  One of our local alumnae, Katie Mathis donated a glass block from our original chapter house.  She came to the house during a Founders Day event and presented it to the chapter with many stories to share.  My husband’s boss (the son of one of our national past presidents, Rose Mary Hittle) donated everything and anything he had from his mother which included her initiation certificate, diploma, a watch, many pictures, and other articles.  The chapter members were thrilled to be able to have these cherished items in their home. The house corporation and the chapter have found incorporating the past into the chapter facility can be beneficial in several ways!  The collegians benefit from seeing the longevity of the chapter’s home and the wonderful items reflecting the history of the chapter and its members.  The alumnae gain a real connection to the facility and the knowledge and recognition the chapter values all its members.  And, hopefully, the connection will grow causing collegians and alumnae to monetarily support other future housing projects! For additional support and/or information, contact Erinvia email. Other heritage examples: Alpha Chapter, DePauw University Karen Bushouse, House Corporation Board President. Alpha Chi Omega Headquarters and Alpha Chapter alumnae helped to contribute to memorabilia for the chapter’s wonderful display of the heritage of Alpha Chi Omega’s founding chapter. Beta Eta Chapter, Florida State University Britain Dwyre, Chapter Advisor Britain worked with the Housing Department and the collegiate chapter to also incorporate memorabilia  from the past throughout the Beta Eta Chapter’s home.  Please send your pictures and ideas telling the Housing Department how you are preserving your chapter’s heritage and making it come alive in your chapter house.

Help an Alpha Chi Omega Sister's Wedding Dreams Come True

Go to http://www.ultimateweddingcontest.com/entries/40618 to vote for Lyndsay and Chris! Lyndsay is a 2005 initiate of Beta Eta. Here's their story:

Our love story.

Lyndsay and Chris met three years ago while Lyndsay was attending Florida State University and Chris was active duty in the Marine Corp and was soon stationed in California. Spending most of our relationship apart, we knew that times could be hard but we knew we were meant to be together. And then we received the news that Chris would be deploying to Iraq. Chris was deployed for seven months during the Iraq war and every day was a struggle. It was seven long months with minimal communication, but we would not give up.

Three important details about our Ultimate Wedding.

First, the most important detail to the both of us is having all the family and friends that were there for us. Meaning have a large crowd. Secondly, we would like to have a very romantic outdoor setting incorporating many family traditions into the ceremony. Thirdly, we would like the ceremony and reception to filled with the most beautiful flowers, ranging from all different types but unique and breath taking.

Our everyday dream day.

With Lyndsay and Chris being separated our dream days are just being able to be around each other in a relaxing and eventful day. Our dream days would be doing adventurous things outside or being able to spend time with family members since both of our family's are separated throughout the east coast and midwest areas.

Beta Eta Featured on Alpha Chi Omega's National Website!

We were so pleased to see Linda Wisner Sanford featured in the first of a monthly series spotlighting Alpha Chi Omega volunteers!

From Our Team > Volunteers
Volunteer Spotlight

Each month we will feature four alumnae who give their time and talent to Alpha Chi Omega: two Fraternity volunteers (one alumnae and one collegiate), one Foundation volunteer and one Housing volunteer.

Linda Wisner Sanford Beta Eta, Florida State UniversityFinance Advisor, Gamma Nu Also: Gamma Zeta Gamma Alumnae Chapter Treasurer and Gamma Nu House Corporation Director Favorite Alpha Chi memory:  I have 2 memories which really stand out: the Centennial Convention where I reconnected with many of my Beta Eta sisters and Beta Eta's 75th anniversary celebration in 2004. Hobbies: Travel, reading, theatre, shopping, entertaining, playing cards, board games and fishing. Favorite quote: "Only a life lived for others is a life worth while."  ~Albert Einstein Most proud of: The Certificate of Achievement that was awarded to me by by the Department of the Army for exceptionally meritorious service as President of the Chosun Gift Shop Association in Seoul, South Korea.  I was able to combine my love of travel and shopping to increase the profits of the Chosun by nearly 250%.  All proceeds were divided between Korean and American charities.

Alumnae Panhellenic Scholarship Luncheon

 

 Collegiate members of the Beta Eta Chapter joined members of the local Epsilon Tau Epsilon alumane chapter to attend the annual Alumnae Panhellenic Scholarship Luncheon. This years luncheon was held at the Delta Delta Delta chapter house (it rotates through collegiate chapters at FSU), last year was held at our beloved 518. The event included a silent & live  auction, key note speaker Beth Langford (Kappa Delta, national president), scholarship presentation, etc.

Please Support a Beta Eta's Hollywood Dreams!

We hope you'll join us in supporting Alpha Chi Omega Florida State University alumna Joanna Q in her quest to launch a sitcom pilot! Please take a minute to read her note below, visit her website, make a donation if you are able, and most importantly SPREAD THE WORD! The more "buzz" we can create, the better the chances are of the project moving forward!! Thank you!!

As many of you know, I spent several months last spring/summer writing a tv pilot with my writing partner, Nathan Gotsch, based on some spoof campaign ads he made in 2006 that wound up on MSNBC and "endorsed" by Keith Olbermann. (For the full story and to see the ads, go here.) We're in the process of turning our script into a real live tv show and are going to shoot it in two weeks.

That's where you, my amazing friends and family, come in. We've been fortunate to get a lot of greatly reduced and free man-power thanks to our friends and contacts out here (both professionally and through Nathan's years in film school at USC) , but still need help to turn it into a reality. I'm not asking for money (though if you can donate, that's fantastic) -- but I am asking you to help spread the word. Please go to the site, check our out our pilot, and if you like what you see and want to help us succeed, pass it along to other people you know -- in the real world and on the internet.

And now: a few links to help you in the right direction:

The official website: http://www.joshjenningsforcongress.com
And our Kickstarter page.

Thanks in advance for all of your help, and thank you for all of your love and support - without it, I wouldn't be out here pursuing my dream and getting to do what I love.
Joanna

Joanna's "day-job" is writing for The Ellen Show. Check out some of her work here:

Please vote for a Beta Eta and help her win!!

Catherine Roscart (BH '04) made a video that has a chance to be on the home page of funnyordie.com. She would love your vote. She is in fact, really funny and wrote lots of skits for Beta Eta. She lives in L.A.

Just become a fan of the group on facebook then vote for her sketch "Single Awareness Day PSA" This will help her out so much in her career. And her grandlittle Maggie H (who wrote this post) thanks You!

Funnyordie facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/funnyordie?v=wall) and vote on the best video for this week 

Singles Awareness Day; a Public Service Announcement - watch more funny videos